After a full report by the President, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov suggested to suspend his powers as FIDE President until the next Presidential Board. The news came via the Twitter of B. Balgabaev, assistant of the FIDE President.

Ilyumzhinov himself described the events from the Presidential board. “I remain president of FIDE. But at my request, the presidential board has limited my authority in the financial sector of the organization in the United States,” – said Ilyumzhinov for “Interfax” on Sunday. “At the next presidential board I will describe how I will proceed in respect of sanctions imposed by the United States against me” – he stressed.

According to article A.9.5 now the functions of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov will be performed by the Deputy President Mr. Makropoulos

Official FIDE announcement

Following the announcement by the US Department of the Treasury that the US levied sanctions against Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Russian citizen and FIDE President, Mr. Ilyumzhinov has informed the Presidential Board that he will withdraw from any legal, financial and business operations of FIDE until such time as Mr. Ilyumzhinov is removed from the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanction list.

Mr. Ilyumzhinov advised that he has initiated legal procedures in the US aiming to request additional information and reverse restrictive measures put by the US Department of the Treasury. During the next Presidential Board meeting, Mr. Ilyumzhinov will update the Board as to the progress of the legal procedures.

Mr. Ilyumzhinov’s decision to withdraw from any legal, financial and business operations of FIDE is to enable him to concentrate on clearing the situation with the US Department of the Treasury.

Until further notice, under section A.9.5 of the FIDE Statutes, if the President: “duly authorises, then he can be represented by the Deputy President who shall exercise the powers of the President. The Deputy President can thus represent FIDE officially and can solely sign for FIDE.” Therefore Mr. Makropoulos will now be exercising these powers and representing FIDE officially.

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has been at the front seat of FIDE for two decades. He recently celebrated his 20th anniversary as FIDE President and shared in an interview, “FIDE means everything to me. It means an indescribable love for chess. It means pride for everything that I have accomplished… I love what I do, and I don’t care how it affects my health or how much of my own money I have to spend on it. I’ve got no intention of taking a Rolls-Royce or Rolex to the grave with me. I want to leave a legacy behind.” Read the full interview with Kirsan Ilymzhinov here